Highway buildings



Dec. 11, 19128. 1,694,383

J. K. HENCKEN,

' HIGHWAY BULDINGS Filed Nov. 7, 1925 EEI Patented Dee. ll, 1928.

JOHN K. HENCKEN, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HIGHWAY BUILDINGS.

Application filed November 7, 1925. Serial No. 67,492.

This invention relates to highway buildings and is herein shown as affording a means for housing transportation systems for both passengers and freight.

In congested districts, such as are now to be found in certain large cities, the problem of freight and passenger transportation as well as vehicle traffic has become a question of great concern due to the inability of the streets to reasonably accommodate the traflio and delivery.

Subways and elevated railways have been employed in an attempt to. take care of a large portion of the passenger traflic. Among other objections, the subways are expensive to build and operate, and are poorly ventilated;

and elevated railways,although operated in the open air, are unsightly and noisy and impede traffic by obstructing the streets. Street railways, both steam and electric, are employed as means for transporting freightinto the congested districts of cities, but are highly objectionable. Torelieve the situation, in

so far as automobile traffic is concerned, certain streets have been set aside as one-way thoroughfares and other streets have been designated for the use of pleasure vehicles to the exclusion of trucks, but in spite'of these and other efforts to relieve the traffic-congestion, the relief afforded hasbeen, at the most, only temporary.

The general object of this invention is to provide means for adequately relieving the situation, in so far as freight and passenger transportation and automobile traffic are con cerned, and the invention contemplates the provision of a series of appropriately de signed buildings, suitable for use as storerooms, warehouses, offices, apartmentsand the like, arranged in an and-to-end relation and arched or bridged from one to the other at the points of intersecting streets, and providing on the tops of such buildingsa continuous viaduct or vehicular roadway to which ve- 7 hicles from the street level may gain access by means of suitable elevators or ramps, which may be arranged either on the mside or theoutslde of the buildings, as cond1t1ons necessitate, and lead to the roadway on the tops thereof at suitably spaced intervals.

The invention also contemplates utilization of the series of buildings that support the viaduct or roadway, as a unitary structure for housing one or more passenger transportation systems such as a continuously movmg platform. for passenger traflicand for housing one I or more transportation systems, such as a railway, which may be devoted exclusively, if de-' sired, to the carrying of freight.

Certain other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accom-,

panying drawing which is a perspective view of astructure and 1ts appurtenances embodying my invention. and the lack of facilities for freight receptlon Referring to the drawing, a pluralityof buidlings 5 are arranged in an end-to-end relation between streets 6 which run parallel with opposite sides of the buildings, the streets 6 being intersected by cross-streets 7 between adjacent buildings. These buildings maybe of any appropriate design to meet the v requirements necessary to store-rooms, warehouses, oiiices, apartments and the'like' and may be of any'desired height, the height of any one building with respect to the adjacent buildings being such thatthe tops thereof may be utilized to support one or more viaducts or roadways 8, between, which a parkway 9 may be arranged. Communication between the roadways 8 and parkway 9 may be had through suitable means such, for example, as flights of steps 10. In order, however, to supportthe roadways over the cross streets 7 between adjacent buildings, suitable bridges 11 are provided. The bridges 11 may" be formed as a part of the structure of adjacent buildings rather than asindividual units whereby the several buildings 5 are connected together as aunitary structure form ing a continuous support for the roadways 8.

In order that vehicles from the streets 6 and 7 may gain access to the roadways 8, over which they may travel unobstructed bythe usual street traffic, and at high speed,-a plurality of elevators 12 may be employed which may operate from the ground floor of any particularbuilding to the top thereof; The upper ends of the elevator shafts, it will be noted, are set back into the parkway 9 andopen on to the roadways so that they will in no way interfere with and offer obstruction to traffic on the roadways8. From the position of the elevator shaftslproject-ing above the tops of the buildings it will beapprecited that entrance to these elevators is had from the cross streets 7 and that the entrances to such elevators are, therefore, obstructed to view in the accompanying drawing.

Not only do the buildings 5 function collectively as a means, when taken in connecbortation s stem shi ments of frei ht tion with their adjoining bridges 11, for making possible the provision and supporting of one Or more continuous roadways at the tops thereof, but these buildings also function collectively as a means for housing a suitable passenger transportation system, herein.

shown as a continuously moving platform 13, access to which may be gained from the streets as well as from the roadways tl and parkway 9 through suitable means such for example as the escalators i l, 1a, and elevators 15. This moving platform is carried by bridges across intersecting streets from building to building and may be housed by such brid es as b the enclosed brid e structures a t: 1 z; I 16. Inasmuon as the passenger transportatlon system, herein shown, is completely separated from the roadways 8, although housed within the same structures that support the roadways, there can be no interference be tween the traffic of the passenger transportation system and the traffic over the road-- ways 8. i

Housed with-in thebuild'ings o, preferably below the street level, is a freight transportation system, herein shown as a plurality of railways 17 Over which may operate the usual typeof freight cars 18, from which freight may be loaded on to the freight platforms 19. By so arranging the freight transmay be brought into the most-congested districts without'interfering with the normal street traflic and without interfering with thetrafii'c over the roadways 8 or the tra liic upon the moving platfo m 13, although the same buildings that house the moving platform and suport the roadways 8 serve also to house the freight transportation system.-

In the event shipping racii'ties are close at hand, suitable means such'asbeltconveyors 20 leading to steamship piers, not shown, may be provided at various intervals along the freight platform 19, thus affording an efficient and expeditious means for transferring freight from along the freight transportation system to the water front.

The concourse 21, shown as provided the level of the moving platform, may contain booths or open shops. .Since access to and egress from the moving platform may be had at any point in its length these booths and shops may be distributed throughout the length of the platform instead of being concentratedat the terminals, and the're-ntals paid for these booths and shops as 'well as for the other rentable space in this combined structure wlll easily afford such an income ing the tops of said buildings together, a

roadway bridged over'said supporting means from the top of one building to the next, and a traffic system extending through and housed within said buildingsbelow said roadway.

3. In combination, a. pluralityofbuildings rising above thestreet level and arranged in 1 an end-to-end relation, a roadway'supported on the tops of said buildlngs and bridging the spaces afforded between ad acent buildings. means for transporting vehicles from the street level to said roadway, andla trans- .portation system housed within said buildings and extending therethrough on a'plane below said roadway. I i

4. In combination, a plurality of buildings rising above the street level and arranged in an end-to-end relation, a roadway supported on the tops of said buildings and bridging the spaces afforded between adjacent build ings, means for transporting vehicles from the street level to said roadway, a transportation system housed within said buildings and extending therethrough on a plane below said roadway, and means for gaining access to saidtransportation system from said roadway and vice-versa. V v

5. In combination, a plurality of buildings arranged in an end-to-end relation andconnected together at their tops thereby forming a unitary structure, spacedfrom each other below the connection afforded between the tops thereof to permit traffic therebetween, a continuous roadway supported upon said unitary structure, a'

passenger transportation system extending through said unitary structure below said roadway and housed within said buildings, and a freight transportation system extendthrough said unitary structure and housed within said buildings below said passenger transportation system,

In testimony whereof, I have afiiired my I specification. JOHN K.

signature to this said buildingsbeing, 

